India’s Weak Climate Action Ranking Raises Health Concerns: Key Risks Explained

India’s Climate Action Plan Scores Poorly on Health Protection: Key Risks for Millions
Climate change is emerging as a major public health challenge, exposing millions of people to rising temperatures, worsening air pollution and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. While countries are setting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, experts say climate policies must also address the health consequences of environmental changes and strengthen healthcare systems to protect vulnerable populations.

India scored just 2 out of 32 points in the 2026 Healthy NDC Scorecard, an assessment examining how effectively countries incorporate health considerations into their national climate commitments. Japan received the same score. The findings were released ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled for November 2026.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) assessed 117 national climate plans covering 132 countries. According to the assessment, India’s climate commitment does not adequately address the health impacts of climate change, the potential health benefits of climate action or the role of air pollution in national policy.

The findings have implications for India, where exposure to polluted air, extreme heat and climate-sensitive infectious diseases creates substantial public health challenges. They also highlight the need to connect climate targets more directly with measures that protect people’s health.

What Does India’s Climate Score Reveal?
The Healthy NDC Scorecard examines national climate commitments across eight areas, including climate-related health risks, air pollution, healthcare-sector action and climate finance.

Colombia received 29 out of 32 points, followed by Nigeria with 25 and Cambodia with 24. The assessment found that 19 of the 20 highest-scoring countries were low- and middle-income nations.

India’s result indicates that health considerations are not sufficiently integrated into its climate commitments, according to the GCHA assessment. The report highlights gaps in explaining how climate policies will reduce health risks and deliver health benefits. It also points to the absence of explicit references to air pollutants in India’s climate commitment.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are climate action plans submitted under the Paris Agreement. They outline countries’ targets and strategies for reducing emissions and responding to climate change.

India’s latest NDC, covering 2031-2035, was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2026. Its targets include reducing the emissions intensity of GDP by 47% from 2005 levels by 2035, achieving a 60% share of non-fossil fuel sources in cumulative installed electricity capacity and creating an additional carbon sink of 3.5-4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through forests and tree cover.

While these commitments focus on emissions reduction and the energy transition, the scorecard calls attention to the importance of explicitly addressing the health effects and benefits associated with climate action.

How Climate Change Can Affect Your Health
The effects of climate change can reach people through several pathways, from direct exposure to extreme heat to changes in air quality, water safety and the spread of infectious diseases.

1. Extreme heat and heat-related illness

Heatwaves can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion and potentially fatal heatstroke. High temperatures also place additional strain on the heart and kidneys.

Outdoor workers, older adults, young children and people with existing health conditions can face greater risks, particularly when access to drinking water, shade, cooling and medical care is limited.

2. Air pollution and respiratory diseases

Exposure to polluted air is associated with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and stroke. Some sources of air pollution also contribute to global warming.

Measures that reduce emissions from transport, industry and household fuels can therefore deliver benefits for both climate and public health.

3. Flooding, unsafe water and sanitation problems

Floods can contaminate drinking water, damage sanitation infrastructure and interrupt access to essential healthcare services. These disruptions can increase the risk of waterborne illnesses and create additional challenges for communities recovering from extreme weather.

4. Changes in infectious disease patterns

Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns can affect the habitats and distribution of mosquitoes and other disease-carrying organisms. These changes may influence the geographical spread and seasonal patterns of diseases such as dengue and malaria.

The precise impact varies by location and depends on several factors, including local environmental conditions, public health infrastructure and disease-control measures.

Why India Needs to Link Climate Policy With Public Health
India’s geographical and social diversity means climate-related health risks differ significantly between regions. Heatwaves can threaten people working outdoors, while flooding can disrupt healthcare and sanitation. In densely populated urban areas, high temperatures and air pollution can combine to increase health pressures.

The World Health Organization recommends integrating health considerations into national climate commitments by identifying vulnerable populations, strengthening climate-resilient healthcare systems and maximising the health benefits of policies across different sectors.

Such an approach requires coordination between health authorities and departments responsible for energy, transport, housing, urban development, water and sanitation.

Four Areas Where Climate Planning Could Improve

1. Address air pollution alongside greenhouse gas emissions

Climate plans could more clearly identify measures that reduce harmful air pollutants alongside carbon emissions. Cleaner energy, improved public transport and reduced pollution from industry and household fuels can support better air quality.

2. Strengthen heat and disease preparedness

Heat-health action plans, early-warning systems, disease surveillance and emergency response arrangements can help communities prepare for heatwaves, floods and changing patterns of infectious diseases.

3. Make hospitals more climate-resilient

Healthcare facilities need reliable electricity, safe water, resilient buildings and emergency arrangements to remain operational during extreme weather. Preparedness is also essential for handling sudden increases in patients during climate-related emergencies.

4. Protect vulnerable communities

People living in poorly ventilated homes, informal settlements and areas with limited healthcare access may have fewer resources to cope with extreme heat and other environmental hazards. Climate policies should identify these vulnerabilities and provide targeted protection.

Adequate funding and coordination between government departments are also necessary to turn commitments into effective programmes. The GCHA has emphasised the importance of faster emissions reductions by major emitters and climate finance from developed countries to support implementation in developing nations.

Black Carbon: Another Important Pollution Challenge

The assessment also highlighted limited international action on black carbon, a short-lived climate pollutant produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels such as diesel and biomass.

Black carbon contributes to atmospheric warming and is associated with harmful air pollution. Reducing its emissions can therefore offer both climate and public health benefits.

According to the report, only five countries—Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay—had established black carbon reduction targets.

For India, incorporating air-quality objectives more explicitly into climate planning could help connect emissions policies with the pollution exposure experienced by communities.

What the Findings Mean for India’s Future

India’s result in the 2026 Healthy NDC Scorecard highlights a gap identified by the GCHA between national climate commitments and the integration of health protection into those plans. The country has established emissions-reduction and clean-energy targets, but the assessment argues that the health impacts and co-benefits of climate action need greater attention.

The score does not measure every aspect of India’s climate policy or the actual health outcomes of its programmes. Instead, it assesses how health is reflected in the national commitments examined.

As climate-related risks grow, incorporating health objectives into climate planning could help India better prepare for extreme heat, air pollution, infectious diseases and weather-related emergencies.

The broader challenge is to ensure that climate action does more than reduce emissions. It must also help protect lives, strengthen healthcare systems and improve the ability of communities to withstand environmental change.